Swarovski AZF V 25-40x75?

[tucansam]

Link left cold in case there is a rule against posting to an auction (although it has ended) but this is one of the few pages I've found with detailed pics and what not...

SWAROVSKI OPTIK TELESKOPE AZFV25-40X75 SNZ VARIO NAHZUSATZ NEU OLD STOCK SUPERB! | eBay

Anyone know anything about this spotter? I was recently offered one in trade for an item I value at $600-800. A friend of mine who knows a lot more about Swaro than I do says these were built in the 70s and 80s... What little info online (in English, heh) reviews them favorably, however I have access to Fed/LEO pricing through Leupold and Bushnell and have been considering spotters from them. What would a more modern spotter offer that this Swaro might not? Better glass? Better resolution? I know its a Swarovski, but before I get wrapped up in a name, I'd like to know if the glass I would be getting will perform like the glass I COULD be getting.

I am currently using a Meade ETX-90 with a 23mm eyepiece as a spotter, and it works well at the bench, but I'm not sure it would survive a hike around in my shooting bag.

Thanks.

 

[Aeon1]

An archery hunting friend had one of those in the late 80's to early 90's. It was pretty good from what I remember, probably better than most back then. The scopes we compared it to was the old Zeiss roof prism, Leupold fixed power roof prism and an even older Bausch & Lomb. I recall the Swaro was better than the B & L and Leupold but the Zeiss had the edge over all of them. Swaro coatings weren't the best at the time and we felt Zeiss products were superior in those days. Swaro's coatings have come a long way since then as I've looked through or owned and compared just about every rendition since the late 80's early 90's.

 

[tucansam]

Well I ended up getting it in a trade, hope I made out OK. I've used it a few times and its orders of magnitude better than my current spotter, so I'm happy for now.

 

[Aeon1]

I bet it'll be fine. I kind of wish I had any one of those old spotters to leave in the truck. I was mulling this over and I wonder if some of us just thought the Zeiss was better. I think the whoosh of air when that Swaro is collapsed disturbed me and I was definitely biased towards Zeiss in those days. The Zeiss a buddy had had the battery powered focus (or was it the zoom or both?) which made it seem really cool. I still have no doubt the Zeiss binoculars back then were superior to the Swaro's of the day.